The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-23

of life or death are in his hands. As an indica-
ton of tbs progress in abdominal surgery
it may be stated that the induction apparatus
which was used uusuccessfuy to locate the po-
sition of the fatal bullet in Garfield's body was
devised at tho time for this particular case no
such attempt having ever been made before
That it failed was no fault of the principles in
volved. but was due part to the imperfections
naturally pertaining to newly-invented appar-
atus, and in part to the fact that under the body
was a woven wire mattress of which the sur
geons were not aware. and which DETECTED the
metallic indicator. Since then this apparatus
has been perfected and gives satisfactory results
OF all the operations of this class those per-
formed upon the stomach and intestinal tract
excel in brilliant achievement. Dr. Gross asks,
in contemplating this subject who avoid re-.
fecting upon the great results which will follow
in treatment of eunshot wounds of the abdomen
when in the future armies come in conflict, and
to what extent the surgical history of our
late would have been changed had
surgeons been of the success
with which incised and gunshot wounds
of these parts may be treated.
The Medical and Surgical History of the Late
War" states that Of all such wounds of the stom-
ach there is but one incontestable recovery The
record of wounds of the intestines is almost
equally fatal If the wounds were large the
patients died soon. There were not dozen
of recovery recorded at the close of the war
of repair of broken intestines, and but one COM
plete success
The do-nothing treatment of those times-giv-
ing opium and applying ice poultces-has given
place to more heroic measures with success
that warrants the effort. DIR. Mears calls atten-
ton to Koeherle's extraordinary case, in which
six feet of the intestines were successfully re-
moved by abdominal section; to Billroth's cases
of excision of the pyloric end of the stomach be-
cause OF cancer, the intestines being stitched to
fresh orifce the stomach; and TO numerous
allied classes of cases. The progress leads I'D
from the famous fistula following the eunshot
wound of the stomach in the case of Alexis ST.
Martin, and. through DR.. Beaumont surgeon
in the United States army, made known to the
entire world, to the recen. suggestion
of resection in those cases of perfora-
ton of the intestines following typhoid
fever. The operations now commonly
include laceration of the intestines; obstruction
of the intestines by tumors by stones forming in
them, by their becoming twisted themselves;
and also for all the various forms of hernia in
ternal and external
DR.. Mears does that distinguished colleague
of his fathers in this city, DR.. John S. Bobbs,
the founder OF the Bobbs Free Dispensary, the
justice that great surgical operation, performed
for the first time merits. even though she result
was not anticipated designed. He says: 'In
1867 DR.. John S. Bobbs. the brother-in-law of
the distinguished Simon Cameron, performed
an explanatory laparatomy, opened a dis
tended gal-biadder removed fifty gall
stones, sewed mp the gall-sac and closed
the abdominal wound. The operation was fol-
lowed by the recovery of the patient-the first
operation in which this was done and the bile
cyst restored to its normal condition. Since
then various forms of this operation have been
performed nearly hundred times, and with a
total mortality of less than 80 per cent It is
interesting to observe that in these notable
surgical advances American surgeons are taking
a leading part In a recent editorial in the Lon
don Lancet it is stated that the great advances
in intestinal surgery have been by American
surgeons; especially is the work of Bull and
Dennis, of New York. and Sem. of Milwaukee,
cited. To balance accounts, however, the En-
glish and Scotch surgeons taking the lead in
locating and operating upon assesses in the
brain. The brain is sliced, punctured and ir-
rigated with quite much success among the
English surgeons the alimentary tract among
the Americans